Fading Away
by TokehGecko
Summary: A powerful and familiar missing-nin destroys Shinobi Villages! Main Characters are Naruto, Gaara, Itachi and Kisame. Orochimaru attacks the Leaf! Has Spoilers! Chapter 2 up!
1. Prologue

Naruto – The series

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Ok, this will be an angst fic, I like writing angst fics! This one will be dark as well, by the way, I love writing dark angst fics!

"This is when someone's simply… talking.."

**This is when someone talks when angry/enraged.**

_This when someone is thinking.___

This is when someone's having a mental image of someone or something who's or what's doing something awkward.

The opening sequence of a lifespan is often divided into several paths. But it's not up to the individual, the owner of his or her own lifespan, which path he or she is going to take. Life is not what you make of it; it's what others allow it for you to be. But in this case, the individual has a past already written for him by birth. A past that is unequalled. Because of it, the boy has far less paths to run down in his own lifespan. But the decisions have already been made by bystanders as the individual goes through life. The crossroads have already been passed and he will never cast a look upon them ever again. Because of that which was bestowed upon him, he was destined to live a life where he was the burden for everyone…

Friendships were present, but were forced, or based on trust, which was destined to decay. What was needed to break that, proved to be too much. Where insanity beckoned, the boy was destined to grow. His own existence has a great share of bad experiences. Forlorn friendships, betrayal and hatred, he had received all that and more. He walked in his old villages, being stared at, by gazes that pry, they yearn for his death, but he could not comply. He no longer had hope and decided to fade away, but there was enough pain to live another day. 

There is a downside to everything, common knowledge, but for him there was nothing _but a downside. Still, he lived, filled with darkness and despair, with one lingering thought…_

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone would just die?

**Fading Away**

Chapter 01

A man slowly drank some water from the river and it was apparent from his drowsy eyes, he had just woken up. He splashed the water in his own face and yawned afterwards. Slowly he turned around and walked back to where he came from. He yawned again as he put his clothes on. A black cloak covered his body, he wore worn out shoes and a blank headband, what was on there was completely erased. 

_The sky is grey today… Somehow, it makes me feel a little happy…_

The rain clearly reflected the sad nature of the young man, aged about 19. He moved towards a village, not a Shinobi Village, but simply a village, where no Shinobis lived. They young man was a Missing-nin, and a much feared one at that. Rumours had spread throughout the Shinobi world that a Missing-nin was slowly eradicating every Shinobi Village. But which Missing-nin was that strong? 

Uzumaki Naruto had run away from his village to lead a magnificent life like this. The life of a Missing-nin was truly wonderful. There were no obligations and people from normal Villages hired him to do normal jobs. He lived in these villages, but trained himself as hard as he could when no one was watching. Driven by the hatred that he received and the loneliness that gave him more power, Naruto had grown and was able to use all of Kyuubi's Chakra, but at a prize. The Kyuubi was now completely a part of Naruto, inside Naruto, Naruto himself had weakened the seal on the Kyuubi, to allow more power inside his body, but the Kyuubi also gained more control over Naruto's body. 

But it didn't matter as of late, since Naruto was Kyuubi and Kyuubi was Naruto, it wouldn't take long before they were one, but both with keep their characteristics, within one mind, body and soul. And when that would happen, the Kyuubi seal on Naruto's stomach would disappear and Kyuubi or Naruto would be no more. Naruto himself had improved so much already, but now with the Kyuubi power, he was truly unstoppable. 

Never ever, since his life as a Missing-nin, had he encountered Leaf Hunter-nins. He had figured the Leaf didn't really care about his leaving. But boy did they care when Sasuke left the Leaf Village. 

_The Kitsune brat can die for all they care… It's better this way…. they probably think._

Naruto's left eye twitched as he turned the doorknob of his 'home', he stayed here for the time being, a little house in this village. He once in a while saw Inari walk through the streets of this village. He actually loved this village and he was thankful for the fact that Inari and Tazuna didn't recognize him when he had first arrived in this village. They still didn't know it was him, even though the whiskers on his cheeks were kinda obvious…

"Uzumaki Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes widened. No one in this village knew his real name, which could only mean, the one who just spoke was a Leaf Hunter-nin or just somebody who was looking for him. It would be the first time in 5 years that one had approached him. It has been five years since he left the Leaf Village. Naruto narrowed his eyes and turned around.

Three persons and he knew all three of them. The first he recognized as the true master of the Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi… The other was his Akatsuki partner, Hoshigaki Kisame and the third was a man of his age… Gaara..

_What the hell are these guys doing here?_

Naruto shifted his glance from Itachi and Kisame to Gaara. In appearance, the older two hadn't changed one bit, Gaara had grown a bit taller and still had the red tattoo on his forehead. Itachi, this time, didn't have his Sharingan activated, which seemed very weird. And then there was Kisame, the very tall man, whose face resembled that of a fish.

_Gaara, he's the same as me… I wonder how strong he is compared to me…_

"What do you want? Don't think you can handle me, you're only with three people." Naruto grumbled as he stared at them.

_To be honest, I don't know if I can handle the three of them…_

"Don't act so cocky, brat! Anyways, we're not here to kill you." Kisame calmly stated. "We're here to ask you something.."

Naruto frowned. "Ask away… But I don't have all day, so make it quick!"  He folded his arms and looked expectantly at them.

Gaara emotionlessly stared in front of him, basically at Naruto's home.

"You and Gaara, were destined to become Missing-nins, because of the demons inside of you. Both of you have become exceptionally strong, stronger than anyone could imagine. I assume the rumours about a missing-nin that's been destroying Shinobis-Villages are about you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah." Naruto glanced at Gaara, who was still staring straight ahead of him.. 

_So, Gaara has grown more powerful as well…I wonder how he controls his demon…_

"Naruto-kun. We have a problem, though. You know him, I believe. Orochimaru, I mean." Itachi said, calmly staring in Naruto's eyes. Although Naruto had become a lot stronger, Itachi still gave him a bit of the creeps. 

"It seems he has taken his little brother's body, after all." Kisame piped up. "And Itachi here is pretty pissed. Orochimaru has mastered the Sharingan and he doesn't know whether he can resist the Mange-Sharingan or not."

"I am disappointed in Sasuke… We will need to get rid of his body." Itachi said, looking at the ground. Then, he gazed at Naruto again. "Don't worry, we don't pursue your or Gaara's power anymore."

"In fact, we don't work for the Akatsuki anymore." Kisame added.

Naruto chuckled. "Even if you were, it would be of no use." Naruto revealed his stomach. "The seal is slowly fading away.."

Itachi and Kisame both looked stupefied as they saw the very faint seal on Naruto's stomach. With clear signs that it was indeed slowly fading away.

_This means he has almost complete control over the Kyuubi… which means he's stronger than Gaara as well…_Itachi thought. _Very impressive, Naruto-kun…_

"We're going to hunt for Orochimaru, he's preparing an attack on the Leaf Village. This time, we'll be saving it. We want you and Gaara with us."

Naruto chuckled again. "You two can't handle him by yourself? And I thought you were supposed to be the most feared Shinobis of all."

Itachi and Kisame seemed unfazed by the comment. "Perhaps. Maybe you are afraid to return to your Village?" Itachi countered.

Naruto stared at Itachi for a few seconds. "Perhaps.. But I'll come along, it will satisfy me ripping Sasuke's body apart…"

_I'm afraid of what I might do to that village as soon as I view upon it…_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"You and Gaara here… I wonder how strong you guys are…" Kisame wondered as walked beside Naruto. Itachi and Gaara were slowly following after them.

Naruto glanced at Kisame. "Heh.. I wonder how strong Gaara is as well.." He reacted.

"It was difficult to find you, to think you would live in a peaceful village like that. Gaara was a lot easier to find.. Have you not heard the rumours of from the Sand Village?" Kisame spoke.

Naruto frowned, he didn't really wanted to talk too much, and it seemed Kisame was a talkative person. "No.."

Kisame glanced over his shoulder, at the silent Gaara, before continuing. "Well, it seems Gaara has lost his sanity. You could very well say it's that demon you're seeing instead of Gaara. He has no personality whatsoever."

Gaara, who could overhear the conversation easily, didn't respond at it one bit. He just continued walking.

Naruto snorted. "That's good, isn't it? He has no weaknesses whatsoever."

_I think I am the same as Gaara right now, with no weaknesses, perhaps no sanity, but I still have a personality._

"The two of you.. are quite likely among the strongest Shinobis.. When Orochimaru is killed.. we will be enemies again." Itachi stated. "Demons.. I wonder how strong you two really are.."

Kisame chuckled. "Well, we'll find out soon enough.. The Leaf does not know we are coming, how should we…. Enter?"

Naruto kept silent, as did Gaara, as always. Itachi shrugged, or it seemed that way. "We could simply enter. With the four of us together, they can not stop us. Even with the two of us they would have a hard time." Kisame suggested.

"Hmm, perhaps, I think it's best if we lay low until Orochimaru arrives." Itachi said wisely.

Naruto looked over his shoulder, at Itachi. "You have information about the Leaf Village?"

Itachi gazed back. "Are you interested?" It almost seemed he was amused.

Naruto nodded. 

_Best to know what might happen and who might attack us with which techniques.._

"The strongest in the Leaf Village would be their Hokage, the legendary Tsunade. That says quite enough, doesn't it? She isn't that strong… Other than that, Jiraiya isn't really part of the village, it isn't sure whether he is there or not. Some of the better elite hunter-nins and elite Jounins might trouble us a little bit, because there are so many."

Naruto nodded. "As I expected.. So there aren't any new 'threats', are there?"

"How should we know? It's not like we pass by the Leaf Village every week or so." Kisame reacted. "You're not afraid, are you?"

Naruto snorted. "Afraid? I could rip you apart in seconds!" Naruto yelled.

Kisame snorted as well. "I'd like to see you try, short stuff!"

Both stood glaring at each other, while Itachi and Gaara passed them and simply continued walking. 

Both Naruto and Kisame snorted and followed after them, after glaring at each other for about five seconds. 

_I don't like this guy…_

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"We stay here." Itachi said as he came to a halt. "If Orochimaru and his henchmen attack, we'll know."

Naruto observed his surroundings. Because the Kyuubi was slowly becoming him and vice versa, his eyes, ears and nose were very keen. He sniffed in the air. As the other three were slowly walking towards a cave, Naruto smirked. 

"Oy, there's a bear in there!" Naruto paused and a grin came to his face. "Looks like we don't have to worry about dinner, ey?"

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Noises, and they were approaching them. Naruto had woken up from footsteps. He came out of the cave, after seeing that the others were still sleeping. He narrowed his eyes at the direction where the noises were coming from. He sniffed and frowned. 

_Unfamiliar smell…Yet, it feels like I should know it…_

As he narrowed his eyes and looked pretty far in the distance, he saw who it was who was approaching him. 

_Kiba…That idiot… I will kill him here…He's useless anyway…_

Naruto simply stood there waiting for Kiba and his now pretty big dog Akamaru. As Kiba landed in front of Naruto he found a grinning young man.

"Oy, who are you?" Kiba spoke up first, proving to Naruto he was still pretty much the same.

Naruto grinned and glanced beyond Kiba. "You're alone." He stated. "Have you gotten that strong that they send you alone to inspect on something."

Kiba frowned. "Answer the question!"

"Not yet. You know me from before, and I want to know some things first." Naruto stated as he narrowed his eyes at Kiba.

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "I don't take orders. Akamaru, let's just off this guy." He received an agreeing bark. Naruto simply smirked evilly.

Before Kiba moved, Akamaru was grabbed by a shadow clone, who was also holding a Kunai in front of Akamaru's face, ready to cut it off. Kiba swallowed nervously. 

_This guy's good…_

"Now, then. Don't act cocky in front of someone who's stronger than you, idiot. Now, answer my questions or the dog dies."

Kiba narrowed his eyes nervously. "Fuh-fine…" He grumbled.

Naruto grinned as he began. "First, how did you know we were here?"

_We?__ So there are more here…This guy seems to be strong, could well be a threat to our village. Gotta report this to Hokage-sama…_

"The smell of blood. You guys have killed a bear."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty impressive.. Your nose is pretty good. On to the next question. Who's the strongest in the Leaf Village?"

Kiba frowned. "Our Hokage, of course."

Naruto chuckled. "You're serious?" 

_Still, Tsunade is pretty strong… Gotta be careful, I hate fighting medic Shinobi…_

"Your Hokage… is still Tsunade, right?"

Kiba narrowed his eyes and nodded.

_This guy… He might mean trouble…_

Naruto released Akamaru and made his clone disappear. "Ok, now you can ask your questions. But I have to tell you, though, I will kill you here, so asking questions is pretty pointless."

Kiba's eyes widened and then dangerously narrowed. "You take me too lightly!"

Naruto chuckled. "Is that so?"

Kiba and Akamaru both got ready to fight. "First, who are you?"

Naruto grinned. "Uzumaki Naruto…"

That's when the time momentarily stopped for Kiba.

_Naruto…_

Naruto sighed. "You know, you are a worthless Shinobi. I know you're shocked and all, but you're dropping your guard…" Naruto sulked. "I guess I can't expect a serious fight here…"

"Naruto? What the… Why.. I don't get it…" Kiba let out puzzled. "Are you going to attack our village?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, not really. But I can't have you telling the Hokage that we're here…" With tremendous speed he performed a seal and Kiba found himself surrounded by hundreds of Naruto's. "You can't escape, unless you can teleport in half a second to the Hokage tower."

Kiba's eyes widened. "Akamaru…. I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry, they'll find your bodies…. Some day.."

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"Ok… it seems he's attacking today…" Itachi stated.

"How do you know?"

Naruto had told them a small group was approaching the Leaf Village. The four of them immediately went to see who they were.

"Let's just say I know that kid in the front. A walking corpse… named Kimimaro.. This small group will probably be eradicated in seconds, they're just decoys…" Itachi explained.

"Can you smell the others?" Kisame asked, whispering. 

Naruto shook his head. "No, that Kimimaro reeks like a twenty-year old corpse! He's completely polluting the air.. I can't smell anything but him.." He whispered back..

Suddenly, Gaara performed a Jutsu. "Taiyuu Daisan no me.."

With the seals done, about a dozen eyes came floating around Gaara. Itachi didn't react, while Kisame smirked. Gaara sent all the eyes to different reactions, around the Leaf Village and he made one enter the Leaf Village. 

"I will tell what happens."

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TBC

So, what did you think? Like the prologue? Of course I will explain what happened to make Naruto become a missing-nin and also, what made him change like this, so bloodthirsty. Anyway, I'm off updating my other stories now! Seeya!


	2. Where Blood is Spilled

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Note: Kimimaro is to Orochimaru what Haku was to Zabuza, I think…

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She knew something was very wrong. When she woke up this morning she was nauseous because of the odd atmosphere she felt around her. Something was definitely up, she could feel it in her gut and so she had called for the ANBU. Though it was surprising that the ANBU had a message for her too, she somehow knew that it was just the beginning.

The ANBU had recovered the dog of Inuzuka Kiba, Akamaru. The ANBU also reported that Akamaru's owner could also be found at the spot where Akamaru was found, but the reason that they didn't bring Kiba back was, because it was horrible enough to look for every piece…

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the dozen ANBU in front of her.

"Tell all other ANBU to guard every corner of Konoha! Inuzuka Kiba was a powerful Jounin, one who's not easily beaten!" Tsunade then faced the ANBU Captain. "You go tell every Jounin Instructor to report to me."

The ANBU Captain nodded. 'Hokage-sama seems to be very nervous about this ordeal…'

**Fading Away**

Chapter 2:

"That fool performed the Kinjutsu, Kuchiyose Edo-Tensei. Though I don't know why he would bother to summon Kimimaro." Itachi said as Gaara was sending all of his 'Third' Eyes around Konoha.

"So, what do you see, Gaara?" Naruto asked as Orochimaru's troops advanced towards Konoha.

"There will be a battle anytime now… Konoha is well guarded." Gaara faced Itachi and Kisame. "What does Orochimaru look like?"

"Hmmm… He has taken my little brother's body… If Kimimaro gets killed, perhaps Naruto can smell him." Itachi answered.

Naruto frowned. "I don't know which smell Orochimaru carries…"

Kisame chuckled. "Snakes… As soon as you smell a lot of snakes, head there and we'll follow you."

Naruto yawned. "This better be worth my time…"

And then there was screaming. Konoha ANBU rushed towards the small group of Orochimaru followers. Naruto and the others watched as Kimimaro easily got past the ANBU and was quickly approaching the gates of Leaf Village.

"The Bone Guy… I do remember him…" Naruto said. "I want to deal with him."

"Do not attract too much attention…" Itachi said. "As soon as you've beaten him, try to locate Orochimaru."

Naruto slowly nodded, before he disappeared.

Kisame then faced Itachi. "What makes you think he'll beat Kimimaro?"

"Uzumaki Naruto has become stronger than me…"

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Kimimaro was smiling as he saw the Gates coming closer to him. 'Orochimaru-sama should be on the other side. My orders are to destroy as much of this side of the Village as possible.'

A sudden surge of power pulled his attention to his left. The sheer speed of the Shinobi to his left was simply too much… The foot that connected with his face sent Kimimaro flying far, far away from the Gates. Kimimaro held in a scream of pain as he harshly landed on the ground.

"It seems Orochimaru's Edo-Tensei has improved… You seem to have your own complete character back…" Naruto said as he landed on a tree branch above the gasping Kimimaro. Throughout the years Naruto had learned a lot of all kinds of Jutsus, including the Forbidden ones.

Kimimaro gasped for air, before he looked upwards and saw a blonde-haired boy grinning at him. It took a few seconds before he spoke up. "I remember you from somewhere…"

Naruto looked slightly surprised. "Amazing… Orochimaru really has a neck for developing his Jutsus… You even have your memory back…"

"You… weren't you the kid who tried to stop Sasuke-sama from reaching Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro asked as he rose from the ground. "You're too late; Orochimaru-sama has already gained Sasuke-sama's body."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't care… All I care about is ending your pitiful life, little slave… You bow to Orochimaru and to make matters worse, it seems you even bow to Sasuke… And to top it all off, you really smell bad…"

Kimimaro frowned and at the same time analyzed Naruto's strength. "Judging from your stance, you seem to be overconfident."

"You would be too if you were as strong as me." Naruto casually responded, before he jumped down and landed in front of Kimimaro. "Now, I don't have the time for this. I will kill you now…"

Kimimaro smirked. "Is that so?"

Naruto watched as Kimimaro rushed forward with two bones outstretched from his hands. Before the two sharp bones could reach Naruto's face, Naruto grabbed both of them and ruthlessly pulled them out, before disappearing and sticking them hard in Kimimaro's back.

"Thank you for returning my bones…" Kimimaro said, before he turned around. The bones slowly disappeared into Kimimaro's skin. Naruto saw he had activated his Curse Seal. "You seem to be more powerful than before…"

Naruto smiled. "So it is useless trying to attack you with your own bones, huh?"

Kimimaro disappeared from Naruto's view. Naruto sighed as he easily sensed Kimimaro around him and could feel that he was approaching him from behind. He released Chakra to stop Kimimaro's advance towards him and sent him flying.

Naruto turned around to see Kimimaro lying on the ground. "Curse Seal, huh? It's pathetic, depending on something like that. Go to your second level… and you'll see that even then I won't break a sweat fighting you…"

Kimimaro complied and Naruto had to admit that the transformation was impressive. A lot more power and speed had been added to Kimimaro. But the Chakra was decreasing in a very high pace. "Come…"

Kimimaro disappeared.

'Hmm, it almost seems he has the power to get through my absolute defense… Best to just fight him equally rather than letting him attack.' Naruto thought as he sensed Kimimaro going all around him, it seemed he was almost flying, so fast was he moving.

Kimimaro appeared in front of him and Naruto brilliantly dodged the hundreds of bones coming at him. Naruto disappeared before he could get hit by Kimimaro, who was about to perform one of his dances. Kimimaro remained still on the spot and tried to sense Naruto. 'This one's really good… He's equally fighting me while I'm on my second level… It's a good thing that the Edo-Tensei eradicated my illness… Otherwise I couldn't fight any longer now…'

Kimimaro sensed Naruto several feet in front of him. 'He has performed a technique…'

And then, he saw Naruto running towards him. Kimimaro braced himself. Right before Naruto wanted to hit Kimimaro, Kimimaro released every bone on his body. Kimimaro's eyes widened as he saw Naruto dissolve in a huge wave of water and it washed all over him. Almost at the same time he heard another Naruto utter…

"Rakurai no Jutsu!!"

Kimimaro's gritted his teeth to jump away as fast as possible, but the lightning bolt Naruto sent towards him was destined to hit him. The power of the electricity was more powerful because he was also drenched.

Kimimaro didn't scream as electric bolts swam over his body. "An… attack like this… will not defeat me…!!"

"I didn't expect it would…" Naruto replied. "But now that you're still under attack I can hit you with a second attack…"

Kimimaro fought to try and get rid of the electric attack on him, but was forced to face Naruto's next attack. "Heh… Nijuu Rasengan!!"

Two orbs of red Chakra hit him fully on the chest and in his stomach. Kimimaro whirled and was ripped to pieces as he flew backwards because of the mere power of the two Rasengans…

Naruto chuckled as Kimimaro still rose to his feet and was slowly regenerating his bones. "Ughh… what a devastating attack…" Kimimaro let out as he watched Naruto, who was slowly walking towards him. 'He's stronger than me… I do not think I can beat him, Orochimaru-sama… I will try my best attack…'

It was then that Kimimaro performed his final dance, he completely turned himself into a pile of bones and crumbled to the ground, before the bones completely disappeared… Naruto looked more than puzzled, until he sensed the small rumble in the ground underneath him. His eyes widened. 'This is an attack of his… Judging from the despair in his eyes, this is a last resort… Best to charge my defenses…'

Hundreds of Bones suddenly shot up from under the ground, ready to impale Naruto. But Naruto screamed and released his absolute defense to its full capacity, eradicating every bone that came close to him. All around him, the ground was burned.

Naruto was surprised to see Kimimaro come from out of a huge bone outside of the reach of his absolute defense. 'After that, he still has Chakra to attack me, even while he's in the Curse Seal level 2 state… He should realize by now that there is now way he can beat me.'

Kimimaro stared Naruto down as he panted. "You…"

Naruto shook his head. "I've wasted enough time…" And then Naruto rushed towards Kimimaro in a speed he hasn't shown before. Kimimaro didn't even notice Naruto had moved, until he saw the Rasengan right in front of his eyes. "I told you I wouldn't break a sweat…"

"Farewell…"

And thus, there lay the faceless corpse of Kimimaro.

"You would have killed a lot of Shinobi if you hadn't faced me here… Now it's time to get rid of that awful smell…" Naruto said as he released a bit of his Chakra and made the corpse in front of him completely disappear.

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"You're Orochimaru…"

Orochimaru evilly chuckled as he stood in front of Tsunade and her two guards.

Hyuga Neji was disgusted at the sight. "So you finally took Uchiha Sasuke's body…"

Lee was also disgusted, although you couldn't pick that up from his expression. "Sasuke-kun… let me honour you by destroying your body…"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You seem to have mastered the Sharingan already, Orochimaru…"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Actually, Sasuke-kun did, before I took a hold of his body. He tried to run from me once he knew my real plans… But the fool was too late."

Suddenly Orochimaru disappeared. Tsunade, Neji and Lee were puzzled and tried to sense Orochimaru, until they heard a groan to their right. They saw Nara Shikamaru be kicked out of a big bush. Then, they saw Orochimaru in the air with the Kusanagi, ready to land on Shikamaru, who was still feeling the awesome kick Orochimaru gave him.

It seemed Shikamaru had tried to catch Orochimaru off guard and catch him with the Shadow Bind, but Orochimaru had sensed…

Before Orochimaru could land on Shikamaru, Lee interfered with awesome speed, but Orochimaru had sensed him too and grabbed Lee and planned to stick the Kusanagi in him instead of Shikamaru. As the two landed, Neji could prevent Orochimaru's attack on Lee with a kick. But Neji got punched back to Tsunade easily. Lee managed to jump back and grab Shikamaru.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Heh… It seems you will not be winning against me…"

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"A fight is going on the other side…" Gaara suddenly said, surprising Kisame and interesting Itachi. "Uchiha Sasuke is there…"

"It seems defeating Kimimaro was unnecessarily, then." Itachi responded. "Orochimaru is probably already fighting the Hokage."

The three of them jumped towards Naruto. "We've located him, Naruto…"

Naruto grinned. "Orochimaru in Sasuke's body… This will be interesting…"

Itachi looked at Naruto. "You were the closest to Sasuke… Don't go easy on Orochimaru just because he looks like him."

Naruto immediately glared. "What?! Why would I go easy on that bastard?"

"Because you still seem to have problems with your emotions." Itachi said, before he jumped towards Leaf. "Let's go."

Naruto glared at Itachi… "After this… I will kill Itachi…"

Kisame gazed at Naruto with an amused glance, before he followed Itachi.

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other. "Do you want to participate in this war, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto looked uninterested at Gaara. "Leaf is my enemy… If Orochimaru succeeds in destroying it, I have no qualms with it. But Uchiha Sasuke was one from the Leaf and I will destroy every little thing that's connected to the Leaf."

"Ah, it is the same with me and Sand Village…" Gaara responded. "But what… after our goal is reached?"

"I don't care. I'll be satisfied with the destruction…"

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Neji was slammed into a wall and watched as Lee and Tsunade were trying TaiJutsu on Orochimaru. 'We're all mainly TaiJutsu users…' Neji glanced sideways at Shikamaru. 'The Shadow User is low on Chakra and Orochimaru sees though him perfectly, too… Where are the others?'

Neji actually already knew the answer as he looked around. Leaf Village was heavily under attack.

"Mangekyo Sharingan…" Orochimaru stated as he stood in front of Lee and Tsunade. Both knew better than to look in Orochimaru's eyes. Orochimaru could now easily attack both Tsunade and Lee, so Neji stepped in and tried to attack Orochimaru from behind. And that's when Neji noticed another man approaching from the side. He easily dodged the Shuriken Kabuto threw at him.

"Hmmm, another one of Orochimaru's followers…" Neji said, before he noticed that Orochimaru had hit Lee hard in the chest, while Tsunade was jumping backwards.

Neji rushed towards the grey-haired Shinobi, who took a soldier pill. Neji saw what Kabuto was doing with his Byakugan. 'I have to stay away from his hands…'

Kabuto grinned as Neji stopped in front of him. His hands were surrounded with blue Chakra. "Hyuga Neji… You have become quite the Shinobi… I feel honored fighting you…"

Neji snorted. "If that's the best you have, you will lose." He said, indicating towards the Chakra around Kabuto's hands.

Kabuto smiled. "It's not all I have."

Neji slipped into the Hyuga fighting stance, while Kabuto performed hand seals. "Enjintou no Tate!"

Neji's eyes widened as Kabuto's Chakra expanded around him and approached Neji too. 'That's a huge shield of only Chakra... But as I see it, it's like my Jyuken! It's meant to hit my organs… The Heavenly Spin won't work because an attack like that penetrates that…'

Neji leaped backwards as fast as possible. 'What an awesome absolute defense… The shield doesn't allow any physical attacks in! I don't have any effective distance attacks…'

Kabuto snickered. "What's wrong?" Kabuto quickly performed a new set of hand seals. "Enjintou no Shuriken!!"

Neji deftly dodged the Chakra Shuriken Kabuto threw at him… He was more than intrigued at the techniques Kabuto was performing. 'These Chakra Shuriken are also meant for my organs… This Shinobi is good…'

"Kabuto…" Orochimaru chuckled. "I don't need your help anymore, Kabuto. Go and kill all other Leaf Shinobi…"

Kabuto nodded and deactivated his absolute defense and jumped away, leaving Neji alone.

Neji analyzed the battle field. 'Orochimaru is stronger than ever before… Lee is almost out for the count… we've been at it for ten minutes already… We only managed to land few blows on him.. And it was only Lee who managed to hit him… two times..'

Lee was panting crazily as he stared at Orochimaru. Tsunade helped him up and Neji appeared next to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama… We can not win this… We need definite back-up."

Orochimaru chuckled. "So this is the power of the Hokage and her two elite guards?" Orochimaru walked towards them in a slow pace. "Prepare to die…"

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Kabuto was hastily leaping away from Orochimaru, trying to search for easy kills, until he felt a dangerous Chakra approaching him. Kabuto stopped and hid himself in a tree.

As soon as the figures came close, Kabuto's eyes widened. 'I-Itachi! Orochimaru could be in trouble.'

Kabuto jumped out of the tree, but felt another dangerous chakra approaching, so he hid in the same tree again… What he saw made his eyes widen even more… 'Naruto-kun and Gaara…. From the looks of it, those two have become stronger…'

Kabuto watched as Naruto and Gaara followed after Itachi, until Naruto suddenly turned around. 'Did they notice me?!'

All of a sudden, Naruto had disappeared. And it seemed Gaara was slowly jumping back towards him.

"Oy, Kabuto-san…"

The hair in Kabuto's neck moved, so close was Naruto behind him. "Naruto-kun… It's been a while."

Naruto allowed Kabuto to turn around in the tree. "You should feel ashamed hiding in a tree… I wonder… was it for Itachi and Kisame… or for me and Gaara?" Naruto asked. 'Probably both…' He thought.

Kabuto smiled a nervous smile. "As you know, I observe and analyze, before I fight. If we are to fight, Naruto-kun, let's not do it in a tree…"

Naruto agreed with a nod and jumped out of the tree and landed on a nearby roof. Gaara soon appeared next to him and Kabuto appeared in front of him.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes. 'Naruto-kun has grown a lot… Judging from his stance and his calm expression, he's changed considerably compared to his youth… Gaara has turned into what everyone expected him to turn into… This is not good… I can not deal with these two…'

As before, Kabuto activated his own Absolute Defense. "Enjintou no Tate!!"

Naruto and Gaara both seemed to be interested in the shield of Chakra around Kabuto. "I'm guessing it's best if we don't enter that shield… So no TaiJutsu…" Naruto turned to Gaara. "How about a few Sand Attacks, Gaara?"

Gaara smirked evilly before ten hands appeared behind Gaara and with extreme speed approached Kabuto. Kabuto's eyes widened. 'My absolute defense is only for hand-to-hand combat… This will not do!'

Naruto smiled as he watched Kabuto leap out of the way, avoiding the huge arms of sand. Naruto quickly performed a few seals. "Kyuubi no Chakra, Yaribusuma no Meppou!!"

Kabuto was still jumping away from Gaara's attacks as he saw nine red spears of Chakra come at him. But was seemed more insane was… that the nine spears seemed to have a life of their own…

Naruto smirked as he saw Kabuto struggle in dodging Naruto's Spears of Chakra… "Heh… Kabuto-san… Those things are actually the nine tails of the Kyuubi, don't think you will survive if you get hit even once…"

Gaara had to admit that it was fun to watch a man struggle and deny his own death. "Uzumaki Naruto… You have changed ever since we met…"

Naruto looked back to Gaara, ignoring Kabuto's yelps. "As have you."

In a matter of moments, Kabuto was sliced in pieces… and the nine 'tails' of the Kyuubi dissipated.

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Neji was avoiding Orochimaru's deadly blade while he could not attack Orochimaru back. 'Shit, shit! This is not good, I don't even have the time to perform the Kaiten…'

Neji noticed that Tsunade and Lee were approaching again. They had been hit to the ground often already. With awesome speed, Lee was circling around him, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Orochimaru in the meantime easily avoided one of Tsunade's earth shattering punches. Neji wanted to attack during Orochimaru's dodging but the Kusanagi was too close to his face too often… he gritted his teeth in annoyance and jumped backwards. Neji had figured close combat would favor him, but Orochimaru, or rather, the Kusanagi, had proven him wrong.

Lee took Neji's jump as a cover for his approach towards Orochimaru and as he appeared in front of Orochimaru, he disappeared and immediately tried to hit Orochimaru in the back. That was, until he felt the piercing Kusanagi through his chest…

Neji's and Tsunade's eyes were widened. 'L-Lee…'

Orochimaru chuckled. "Foolish boy… I know of your speed, I can keep up with it and I can rival it… And I also have the Sharingan… Did you really think you could catch me off guard?" Orochimaru chuckled even more as he drove the Kusanagi further into Lee's chest. Blood poured down from the sword and from Lee's clothes.

Neji, angered, appeared behind Orochimaru, but Orochimaru disappeared before he could think of an attack. The Kusanagi was still in Lee's chest. Neji noticed that Tsunade had followed Orochimaru and he could even see the two fight again. But he focused on Lee more now…

"D-Don't move, Lee…" Neji uttered as he let Lee crouch.

Lee gasped for air, but instead spat out blood against Neji's chest. "Nuh-Neji!!" Lee was crazily flailing.

Neji gritted his teeth as he gripped the sword. "Lee… Don't move too much… I don't know if this is the best thing to do… But I'm going to get that sword out of you!!"

Lee swallowed nervously, blood pouring down from his mouth and from his wound.

Behind them, Tsunade and Orochimaru had stopped fighting, Neji didn't even notice.

Itachi and Kisame had arrived…

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I know, I know… It's short… But hey, this won't be a very long fic! This one has 3000 words, actually, not much, huh? Anyway, up to explaining a few techniques…

Enjintou no Tate: I don't know the translation for this one, but I remembered Kabuto's Chakra Enjintou, his Chakra Scalpel, meant to hit the enemy's organs. So I figured, why not make a shield out of it? This shield is meant to not let any physical contact through, for the muscles, or organs are immediately ripped apart when it does.

Enjintou no Shuriken: Actually the same as Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel, only this time Kabuto can throw these Chakra forms at his opponent(s).

Kyuubi no Chakra, Yaribusuma no Meppou: Spears of Chaos. Actually, as described in the story, these are the Nine tails of the Kyuubi. Most Naruto fans should know that one tail is strong enough to crush a mountain… can you imagine what these nine tails can do? So, these nine tails have a life of their own, but they DO serve ONLY Naruto and the Kyuubi.

Err.. I didn't forget anything, did I?


End file.
